ITO CAFE JIMBARAN SEAFOOD — Restaurant in Kuta Selatan

What an epic fail! Loaded with Japanese tourists sitting on the uncomfortable wooden chairs, beachside, you’ll find this small, unfriendly and unwelcoming, seafood cafe. We stopped here for a peasant evening seafood dinner. Coming from Australia where the seafood is top shelf, we wanted to give the Jumbaran experience a go! Fail! The rat race of the place is hectic and you’re just another number to dine. The staff speak little to no English, so trying to order and explain what you’d like, or to complain, is not going to happen. Staff are running up and down collecting plates, delivering food and trying to keep the busy tables happy, but fail again. We sat down and ordered a Bintang and gin and tonic. The Bintang came out with a can of tonic, where’s the Gin? Another 15mins later and the gin arrives in a shot glass! What the?!

We were about to pay for the drinks and leave as we had had enough, but thought we’d stick it out and get some tasty seafood.

We ordered a banquet for two people and also ordered 1kg of crabs to also come out. The calamari which came out on skewers was like tofu and stone cold. I complained and they took this away to reheat or replace.

The crab was empty within the shell. Very little meat and how this could be 1kg of crab is beyond me! The fish is a land mine of bones, which is how it’s served, but not ideal when the tables have very little lighting and you’re using your phone to try to see what you’re doing!

The rice which was served was cold! Not warm at all. We complained and the waiter smiled and laughed and took it away to come back 15mins later with warm rice and then the replaced calamari which was warm, but was like chewing on a thong/flip flop!! Yuck!

This was it! We decided we had enough and got the bill. We tried to complain asking for the manager but the English of the waiter was nonexistent! He just smiled and laughed!!

We got one Bintang for free, but ended up paying over $80AUD for an epic fail of a seafood experience.

Don’t go to Jimbaran Bay for seafood! Way better places to go in Bali! Overpriced tourist rip off! Bypass this place for...

A nice place for a fresh seafood dinner on the beach, but please watch out for the horrible taxi mafia thugs who control this area and ruined our otherwise wonderful last night in Bali.

If you are anywhere within a 5 minute walk (approx) of the bay and try and order a taxi from any other company (GoJek etc) the Taxi Mafia they will chase you down to harass you and your taxi driver without warning.

We ordered a GoJek to avoid the normal scams we have faced many times in tourist areas (fare changes, no change).

We were hunted down twice and forced out of our taxis both times by groups of angry thugs.

The Jimbaran taxi mafia couldn’t care less about our baby, who after this ordeal was in tears and screaming.

Please enjoy some pics of the aggressive and heartless taxi thugs who try and extort tourists in this area.

Bali is a wonderful place to visit, but the country seriously needs to solve its “taxi wars”. The otherwise positive experiences of tourists can be quickly ruined by such problems & aggressive behaviour.

P.s. It’s not about the money. We tip our drivers exorbitantly. We are travelling with a young child and we prefer the security of booking online, tracking the drivers arrival, having a fixed price & being able to tip generously on our own accord.

P.p.s. Thank you to our GoJek driver who went above and beyond to get us home. He was an example of the true Balinese hospitality we have experienced 99% of the time in...

We will sum it up how it was first described to us many years ago. Let’s separate the beach in three groups of cafes. North, South and you guessed it…middle. The North is known for ‘nicer’ and ‘fancier’ restaurants that are more expensive. The middle section is a little more rustic. The Southern end, located in between the InterContinental and the Four Seasons, is our pick. We’ve tried most of the seafood restaurants here. They are more casual and relaxed with a greater emphasis on tables on the sand. The south end has many good options that will keep both your belly and your wallet satisfied. The first time we came to Jimbaran we had never seen a cooking setup like here. If you enter from the beach side and don’t select your seafood from up the back (we advise always selecting your seafood, at least have a look at what you’re paying for) then make the trip to the charcoal barbecues. Most of the time the smoke coming from the cooking can be seen from miles away! Even if you eat on the beach your clothes will smell like they’ve been working there all day so don’t wear your...